Ventilating apparatus



Dec. 27, 1949 J. B. SHAVER VENTILATING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 y es gSIZ'VENTOR.

A TTORNEYQS Filed Aug. 28, 1943 J. B. SHAVER 2,492,242

VENTILATING APPARATUS Dec. 27, 1949 Filed Aug. 28, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 27, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to ventilating apparatus and is particularly adapted to ventilation of large structures, such as factory buildings and the like.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved ventilating apparatus which may be operated either by air currents passing over a building or similar structure, or by power operated means, or by both.

Another object is to provide an improved ventilating apparatus which will prevent the entrance of undesired moisture such'as rain, snow or hail.

Another object is to provide an improved ventilating apparatus which will be extremely compact.

Another object is to provide an improved ventilating apparatus which may be easily applied to existing structures.

'Another object is to provide an improved ventilating apparatus which will efiiciently use currents in the surrounding air.

The invention will be better understood from the description of one practical embodiment thereof, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view, parts being broken away, showing a ventilator applied to the crest of the roof of a building;

Figure 2 is a plan view, partly in plan section, of the installation of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line III-III of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view taken on the line IVIV of Figure 2, showing the ventilator in open position;

Figure 5 is a view similar to that of Figure 4, showing the ventilator in closed position; and,

Figures 6 and 7 are enlarged fragmentary views of parts illustrated in Figure 3.

The installation illustrated consists of three main parts, namely: a central power operated uniti and two air current operated units 2 and 3, one on each side thereof.

These are carried by sill frames shown as steel channels 4 which may be a part of the frame structure of a roof, or may be connected to part of such structure as by embracing beams 5 parallel to the ridge of the roof.

These sill frames are connected by transverse channels 6 defining three aligned rectangular openings or vents through the roof. Extending downwardly from the top of the sill frames to the roof I itself are pieces of metal flashing 8.

Supported on the sill frames are vertical posts shown as metallic angles 9 which are connected by transverse angles l0 and by longitudinally ex- 55 for the drainage of moisture.

tending angles ll shown as having their flanges disposed at about 120, these latter, in the power operated section, being replaced by angles l2. These parts are joined in any desired or well known manner, such as by welding, rivetting, bolts or the like, to provide a generally rectangular open frame.

The top of this frame is left open at the power operated section, while throughout the wind operated sections it is covered by a roof-like cover [3 or top panel, conveniently made of sheetmetal which is slightly arched at a central portion l4 and the edges I5 of which are curved upwardly and then turned downwardly and inwardly around the longitudinal angles l l as most clearly indicated in Figures 4 and 5. The reasons for and characteristics of this shape will be more fully pointed out'hereinafter.

Extending longitudinally along the top of the sill frames 4 are curved sides l6 which present a concave smoothly curved surface to the exterior, the top of these sides being substantially midway between the sill frames and the longitudinal angles II.

On the inner surfaces of these curved sides are strips l! which diverge upwardly therefrom, forming between the strips and the sides gutters The moisture is permitted to escape from these gutters through weep holes l8 through the sides adjacent the bottom of the strips.

Pivoted within the gutters are curved flaps l9 which in their lowermost postion fit closely against and lie upon the inner sides of the side pieces 16, the free edges 20 of the flaps projecting substantially beyond the upper edges of the side pieces themselves.

The pivot shown between the sides and flap is a hinge 2|, which may be of the type of a piano hinge, which permits the lowermost edge of the flap to project somewhat beyond the pivot and thus, by striking the side piece, to limit the upward motion of the flap to a substantially vertical position as shown in Figure 5, and also to permit its operation by the valve in a manner to be hereinafter described.

Secured to the transverse sill frames and transverse top bars of the frame are vertical guide rods 22, and slidable upon these rods, there is in each end section of the ventilator a vertically movable throat valve 23. This valve is shown as generally of triangular cross section prismatic shape, the three sides being somewhat concave, and the outer corners being rounded.

This valve may be raised or lowered as desired aeoaaae The outer edges ofthe valve are provided with 3 angle shaped lugs 26, which when the valve is in its lowermost position, engage the projecting lower edges of the flaps i9 andzmove these to sub-' stantially vertical position as shown inFigure 5,

in which position the flaps nearly close the space upwardly to some such position as that indicated by the dot-and-dashlines 32a, and it will be apparent that the upwardly moving current of air in passing through the gradually restricted space between these flaps acts as thoughit were approaching the throatof a'venturi, its velocity increasing and reaching amaximum just as it passes the inner edges ofthe damper flaps. I

between the side pieces and: the roof, reducing I any air which may flow through the frame to a very small amount and reducing itsvelocity so that no or verylittle moisture, may be carried to the top of the valve. Of course, any rain falling on the top of this valve willsettle in its concave upper surface and drain to one or both ends where it may be removed.

The power operated central portion of the ventilator has some featuresresembling those shown in my co-pending application, SerialNo. 442879, l

filed May 14, 1942,-now Patent No. 2,439,271, and,

like it, comprises: a motor 21' havinga vertical shaft '28 which isprovided with ablowenpro- 1 l I peller or fan 29 within a generally cylindrical tu-- bular casing 30' carried by thesill frames, the motor and'fan being supported by arms or brackets 33! extending from the sill frames and fixed thereto. 1 I I I I I Above the sill framesare pivoted two rectangu I I Iar flaps or dampers 32, the free edges'of which converge upwardly and in their closed position are supported by a channel shaped gutter 33 arranged centrally of the device. I 1 "These fiaps'are free to moveupwardly under the influence of aircurrentsprojected against them by the blower, their upward motion being limited by the longitudinal angles I2 at the top of the frame, so that they never quite reach a vertical position, but are always so positioned that the centers of gravity lie between the hinges 34 on which these flaps are pivoted. Thus, whenever the current from the fan is discontinued, gravity moves these dampers to closed position with their inner edges overhanging the gutter.

Along the under sides of the inner edges of the damper are resilient strips of rubber or similar material, each of which consists of a flange 35 attached to the damper and two converging relatively free flanges 36 and 31 adapted to embrace the edge of the gutter.

These strips serve the dual purpose of acting as bufiers or cushions when the flaps drop upon the gutter edge, and of sealing the space between the flaps and gutter edge against the leakage of moisture. An inturned flange 38 along the edge of the flap itself may bear upon the longer rubber flange 31 to support and stiffen this.

It will be noted that the outer edges of the damper flaps extend beyond and are pivoted outside of the upward extensions 4a of the side rails, so that all moisture from the top of these flaps runs outwardly beyond the frame where it is carried away by the flashing 8 to the roof of the building. The only moisture which can reach channel 33 when the flaps are in closed position is that falling in the narrow zone between the inner flap edges, and this is never so great in quantity that it may not be readily carried away.

If, on the other hand, the blower is in operation while it is raining, the flaps will have moved Thus, the'air sweeps upwardly along the under surfaces of. these damper: flaps and carries .from- I themany particles of moistureas well as any which might be :falling above the openin between the flaps. 1 c I device beprooi. against the entrance of moisture, as its used, in ventilating buildings in which are conducted: I processes which liberate or produce finely divided explosive dusts, and which'must, therefore, be

' protected against the entrance of any rain or the l I It is very important that the like whatsoever, I

Sheet .metalbafiies 3B prevent the air being driven upwardly by the fan from spreading side- 1 wise into the wind operated sections, and viceverse; and similar bafiles 39 at'the ends of the frame prevent air currents. from entering .or leaving at these points; I I

. The operation of the device is as follows:

When it is desired to exhaust air from the.

building by. means of the power unit, it is merely necessary to supply current to, the motor 21.

This drives the fan 29, the air currents produced thereby causing the pivoted dampers 32 to swing upwardly and permit the air to be discharged vertically, carrying it far above the building, and away fromany intake of other buildings in the vicinity. g l

The wind operated device maybe put into operation simply by raising'the valve 23 as'shown in Figure: 4'. Wind traveling transversely of the. p

device sweeps upwardly along. the roof, and,

assuming it is coming from the right as shown in Figure 4, encounters the side l6 which deflects the wind as indicated by the arrows.

Some of this wind eddying around the upper edge of the side [6 blows against the under side of the flap valve l9, moving this to nearly vertical position and thus preventing wind entering below the throat valve 23.

Wind striking the top is deflected upwardly either by the arched central portion l4 thereof or by the remote edge [5, while that striking below the top passses through the passage between this top and the throat valve, at the leeward side of which it passes through a restricted space and attains its maximum velocity.

As it passes over the throat valve, this high velocity stream travels over the air space between the throat valve and the flap 20 and creates a suction, much in the manner of an injector, which draws air from the interior of the building.

This air, on emerging from the ventilator, does not travel horizontally, but is swept upwardly by the upwardly directed currents from the top of the ventilating apparatus, so that all the exhausted air together with any fumes, dust, and the like, will be carried upwardly thereby and swept away from the intake of other ventilating mechanisms on adjacent buildings.

The rate at which air is exhausted by the wind operated portion of the device, of course, can be varied by adjustment of the elevation of th throat valve.

The power operated unit and the wind operated units may be used together or separately, and when used together all deflect exhausted air in an upward direction, but at different points, so that no part interferes with the operation of any other. Any vacuum which may be created by the blast of the exhausted air will carry with it air from the surrounding atmosphere, which, in turn, will be drawn from the surface of the roof alon the outer side of the side plate I6.

While I have described the illustrated embodiment of my invention in some particularity, obviously many other embodiments, variations and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in this art, and I do not therefore limit myself to the precise details shown and described, but claim as my invention all embodiments, variations, and modifications coming within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Ventilating apparatus for use in conjunction with a roof provided with a vent opening, comprising a support, a cover carried thereby positioned above said vent opening, a substantially horizontally topped valve member between the cover and the vent opening and movable toward and from the cover and vent opening, said valve member having a downwardly extending air deflecting surface, an upwardly extending deflector carried by the support adjacent the roof along the side of the vent opening and extending partway to the cover, the deflector presenting a concave surface to the exterior of the apparatus.

2. Ventilating apparatus for use in conjunction with a roof provided with a vent opening, comprising a support, a cover carried thereby positioned above said vent opening, a substantially horizontally topped valve member between the cover and the vent opening and movable toward and from the cover and vent opening, said valve member having a downwardly extending air deflecting surface, an upwardly extending deflector carried by the support adjacent the roof along the side of the vent opening and extending partway to the cover, the deflector presenting a concave surface to the exterior of the apparatus, a flap pivotally carried by said deflector and extending upwardly beyond the edge of the deflector.

3. Ventilating apparatus for use in conjunction with a roof provided with a vent opening, comprising a support, a cover carried thereby positioned above said vent opening, a substantially horizontally topped valve member between the cover and the vent opening and movable toward and from the cover and vent opening, said valve member having a downwardly extending air deflecting surface, an upwardly extending deflector carried by the support adjacent the roof along the side of the vent opening and extending partway to the cover, the deflector presenting a concave surface to the exterior of the apparatus, a flap pivotally carried by said deflector and extending upwardly beyond the edge of the deflector, said valve being provided with means ongaging an edge of said flap to elevate the flap when the valve is in its lowermost position.

4. A ventilating device for use on a roof having a vent opening, comprising a framework carrying a streamline cover having upturned edges, a generally triangular prismatic valve member carried by the framework beneath the cover and movable up and down within said framework, elevating means connected to said valve member, two concave deflectors along the sides of the framework extending from the roof to a point intermediate the roof and cover and positioned in alignment with the lateral edges of the valve member.

5. A ventilating device for use on a roof having a vent opening, comprising a framework carrying a streamline cover having upturned edges, a generally triangular prismatic valve member carried by the framework beneath the cover and movable up and down within said framework, elevating means connected to said valve member, two concave deflectors along the sides of the framework extending from the roof to a point intermediate the roofand cover and positioned in alignment with the lateral edges of the valve member and a concave flap hinged to each deflector and extending beyond the upper edge thereof.

6. A ventilating device for use on a roof having a vent opening, comprising a framework carrying a streamline cover having upturned edges, a generally triangular prismatic valve member carried by the framework, elevating means connected to said valve member, two concave deflectors along the sides of the framework extending from the roof to a point intermediate the roof and cover and positioned in alignment with the lateral edges of the valve member and a concave flap hinged to each deflector and extending beyond the upper edge thereof and the lower edges of the flaps projecting beyond their pivot points and abutments carried by the edges of the valve in alignment with and arranged to engage the projecting edges of said flaps in one position of the valve member.

'7. A ventilating device for use on a roof having a vent opening, comprising a framework carrying a streamline cover having upturned edges, a generally triangular prismatic valve member carried by the framework beneath the cover and movable up and down within said framework, elevating means connected to said valve member, two concave deflectors along the sides of the framework extending from the roof to a point intermediate the roof and cover and positioned in alignment with the lateral edges of the valve member and a concave flap hinged to each deflector and extending beyond the upper edge thereof, gutter members carried by said deflectors on their inner sides 0 beneath said projection edges of the flaps, and

drainage means from said gutters to the exterior of the ventilator.

8. A ventilating device for use on a roof having a vent opening, comprising a framework carrying a streamline cover having upturned edges, a generally triangular prismatic valve member carried by the framework beneath the cover and movable up and down within said framework, guide members extending vertically between the top and bottom of said frame, the valve being slidable on said guide members, elevating means connected to said valve member, two concave deflectors along the sides of the framework extending from the roof to a point intermediate the roof and cover and positioned in alignment with the lateral edges of the valve member.

JAMES B. SHAVER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 322,832 Kittoe July 21, 1885 901,120 Nies Oct. 13, 1908 1,222,394 Grimes Apr. 10, 1917 1,228,202 Gerke et a1 May 29, 1917 (Other references on following page) Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Osbun Apr. 7, 1925 Jordan Oct. 16, 1928 Mussey Aug. 12, 1930 Black Dec. 16, 1930 Dexter July 11, 1933 Sievert Nov. 14, 1933 Blommers Jan. 1, 1935 Brinkley Nov. 10, 1936 Boyer Oct. 15, 1910 Number Name Date Penman Dec. 24, 1940 Belanger Oct. 26, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain A. D. 1880 Great Britain A. D. 1893 Great Britain May 9, 1929 France May 10, 1932 France Mar. 14, 1933 

